


Forbearance

by Babydollxoxo



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Drama, F/M, Music, Romance, songwriters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 14:37:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7467165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babydollxoxo/pseuds/Babydollxoxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and Dimitri are singer/songwriters forced to work together by some form of fate but fate got the story twisted. The duo ends up in a twisted cycle of music, regret, desire and tension. Will they be able to accept their situation or will their newly found world come crumbling down around them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Songs: Arctic Monkeys: Do I Wanna Know? & The Neighbourhood: Baby Came Home.

~FORBEARANCE~

 

Pulsing beats leaked out the door as it was opened for a few obvious lightweights to tumble from. They were held up purely by lust and the arm candy, laced with the scent of cigarette, beneath their shoulders. Hotel Vladimir was not Dimitri Belikov’s cup of tea, or in this case… shot of Russian vodka. 

“Belikov! Over here!” The shout of Ivan Zeklos pulled his attention away from the drunken people stumbling away from the clubs opening. Stepping towards his long-time friend he couldn’t help but shake his head, this was not how he had envisioned spending his Friday night and he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. As though something in his life was going to shift, writing it off as lack-of-seep induced paranoia he stepped towards the shorter, extroverted Russian man. 

“Ivan, you’re late as usual.” The hint of humour behind the comment sparked a self-aware chuckle from the Zeklos family member. 

“Look here Belikov, late or not you’ll be thanking me after this!” he boldly announced, the taller Russian just shook his head, this wasn’t the first time and likely wouldn’t be the last time he heard that statement. However, he accepted defeat and slowly stepped towards the doors wondering what exactly he was about to experience. 

Flashing his ID to the armed guards at the entry he stepped inside of the hotel filled with sweaty bodies and sinful mistakes only to be pulled by his arm towards a door that blended almost completely into the wall, in fact without being shoved directly through the passage Dimitri was certain he wouldn’t have known it was there. 

Taking another step to make room for his pushy friend, he waited for the door to close and as it did all sounds from the dancefloor were immediately cut off completely. Ivan smiled crookedly at him, “I’m telling you, this ‘club’ is worth your time.” Dimitri turned away from the door and saw the steep stairs covered in a dark hued carpet before stating, “I think you may be right.” 

Leaving his friend to ponder the fact he had been agreed with, Dimitri because his ascent up the stairway. It curved around a few sharp corners before opening into a room that easily could have been a club from the 50’s. Plush chairs and booths surrounded deep mahogany tables, drapes hung from the wall and ceilings in shades that begged for attention. The lights were dim, and the small chandeliers only purpose was to ensure light flickered all over the room as though thousands of candles were dancing across the walls. Replacing the overzealous beats he had been subjected to moments before, was an electric tune with a distinct riff, the song alone created a sensual atmosphere. 

The ambience of room was furthered by the clouds of smoke clinging to the oxygen around them, it was thick enough that he had to blink a few times to get a clear look at the stage that everyone in the room was angled towards. 

Being pushed again by the Zeklos family member, the Russian was forced into a booth with a perfect view of the stage. The heavy red curtains were closed but he could see the stage was a similar finish to the tables. The gold accents around the room, the edges of the stage, the decorative buttons upon the booths, the lighting fixtures, all gave the area a rich 50s aesthetic. Intrigued, his eyes circled the room constantly, waiting for the curtains to open, waiting for the talent he had been promised every day for the past 9 days. 

~FORBEARANCE~

Blinking at her reflection in the rear view mirror Rose Hathaway sucked in a breath and held it for a few seconds before exhaling for much longer than necessary. She had been in the parking lot outside of St Vlad’s for at least 10 minutes already but had yet to exit her hand-me-down vehicle in that time. She leant forward, crossing her arms on top of her steering wheel and laying her head upon them she continued her breathing. 

A knock on her passenger window caused the young woman to jolt towards the disturbance, head butting the steering wheel on her way.

“Damn it Lissa! You’re interrupting my zen time.” She exclaimed whilst unlocking the door for her long-time friend.

“Ha! Rose you wouldn’t know zen if it punched you in the face.” The blonde retorted with amusement in her voice. 

“I’d punch it right back..” She mumbled whilst rubbing the pain away from her forehead.  
Lissa rolled her eyes, pulling out a small makeup bag at the same time. Rose eyed the bag wearily, “You trying to tell me something Liss?” whom scoffed at the remark, “As if Rose. I’m just enhancing what you’ve already put on, it’s not heavy enough for the stage light. It’s been a while since you’ve been up there…” She trailed off as Rose’s eyes glazed with thought. 

She was painfully aware of her absence from the stage, it had been months. Since the age of 11 she hadn’t ever gone longer than 2 weeks without performing, but she was going through what she had classily dubbed her, ‘dry spell’ at the tender age of 22. She didn’t have any particular reason for it, it just happened. 

One night she jumped off the stage and saw she had an inquiry for a gig in her inbox for a few night later that she never bothered confirming, that was 5 months ago and the only reason she was getting back on stage was because the owners of the venues son, Mason, called in a favour and here she was. 

There was nothing traumatic last time she performed, no one threw food scraps, and she couldn’t recall anyone tormenting her, it was kind of like she lost all her passion. That went for song writing as well, she had tried to get back on the horse but every time she picked up a pen she felt drained and anything she did write felt forced. Tonight’s arsenal consisted of old music she had written whilst fuelled by something. She wasn’t sure what it was, when she lost it, or how to get it back. 

“Done!” Lissa threw her products back in the little bag that no doubt cost more than the car they were currently sitting in. 

The brunette swivelled back to look in her rear view mirror again admiring the high pigment highlight shimmering against her cheeks even in the dark car, not to mention the newly applied red lipstick that somehow managed to be the exact shade as the tiny number she had hidden under her black trench coat. 

How Lissa managed to stock the same shade she was clad in without so much as seeing the fabric was beyond her, but to be fair it was nothing new, sometimes she could have sworn they were mentally linked. 

The dress was probably purchased by the blonde anyway. It had been sitting in the back of the singers closet for so long with the tags still on she couldn’t remember where it originated from. Her motivation for finally pulling it out and putting it on were unknown even to her, but after practically living at the gym for the past months where music was no use to her she could rest assured that the tight material would be hugging her curves, giving her the boost of confidence needed to get out of her car. 

“Alright Liss, let’s do this.” Lissa beamed at Rose as they climbed out of the pile of junk metal. As they walked towards the back entry where Christian was surely waiting, Lissa reassured her brunette friend. “I honestly don’t know why you were so nervous, you were confident when you were 6 and screeching out My Heart Will Go On in the playground at recess, but now that you’ve mastered your talent you are shying away.. I just don’t get it. I believe in you none-the-less, you’re going to smash it!” Rose could only reply with statements of not knowing, because she truly didn’t. 

The door opened as they were only a few steps away and as she suspected Christian was there to hold it open. He let go and pulled Lissa to his side as the door quite literally smacked Rose on the ass as she tried to shuffle into the room.

“Wow! Thanks Pyro, I appreciate the chivalry.” Her tone was deadpan and you would have to be dead to miss the sarcasm lacing her words. She was become more accustomed to being a shadow since the two had gotten married, newlyweds... What else could she expect?

“Maybe I’d have more time to hold doors open if you weren’t so late.” He replied with snark, this was standard practise between the two and Lissa simply ignored the barely civil banter.

Having no desire to explain herself to anyone she quickly entered the dressing room around the corner which was just another dimly lit room with two cream couches cracked with age, a corner cut off with a room divider for ‘privacy’ (she found this redundant considering the divider was sheer and barely blurred the person behind it let alone hid anything) and a vanity with paint peeling and cracks decorating all the outer edges of the mirror. 

She started doing vocal runs almost immediately before anyone could shove her onto the stage unprepared. She grabbed her phone to of her handbag checking for a reply to the text she had sent hours ago, knowing better than to get her hopes up she locked her phone and threw it back inside the bag not letting her voice waver as she went up another octave. 

She was pacing the cold room still testing her vocal limits when Lissa and Christian entered, hand in hand. They beckoned to their bare wrists and gestured for her to come with them. She held up a finger and hitting the highest note in her vocal range before taking another calming breath and stripping the trench from her body, chucking it on top of her bag before leaving with the happy couple. 

They turned back around the corner they had originally come from, passing the heavy metal door, they turned yet another corner to find the empty stage. The curtain was closed but the smoke had managed to penetrate the material giving the stage a mysterious atmosphere. 

From the corner of her eye the young woman spotted red hair at the production box to her left, “Hey Mase! Get your ass down here!” He existed the box quickly trying not to run full speed to his old friend, instead coming out with an awkward gallop. “Hiya Rose, you’re looking good! You ready for this?” She smiled at him with amusement tinkering with her eyes. 

Confirming she was as ready as she’d ever be they exchanged pleasantries, Rose realised her excitement was already dwindling as she started going through the motions, “Yeah we should definitely get together to catch up,” “It has been too long,” they exchanged all the clichéd lines before she pointed to the gold microphone stand in the centre of the stage. 

“Guess I better go over there,” she said giving the old school friend a quick hug. “Good luck.” He stated before galloping back u to the sound box. 

She slithered over to the stand holding her mic and grabbed it. Her hand slipping easily over the cool metal. As she shifted from one leg to the other she realised that 6 inch heels for her first time back on stage was probably not the greatest idea she’d ever had. Never-the-less she took one more deep breath in and nodded at the Mason and his team as she exhaled. Looking back at the closed curtain as the first bars of her song hummed from the expensive speakers and the heavy red material exposed her to the crowd concealed heavily by the smog hazing over the room. 

~FORBEARANCE~

Dimitri’s eyes had focused solely on the stage the second he heard the lyrics to the song fade out, the nights were mainly made for saying things…., as a new riff took its place, it felt like a sweet form of torture as the curtains slide open and he heard a voice pierce through the cloud of smoke billowing out from the still heavily concealed stage.

Baby came home today, told me to stay away…

The voice caressed his ears in a way he had never experienced, the sound was astounding, clear and captivating but far from clean. Instead it was entwined with intimacy and provocation. Enchanted, his eyes fought through the heavy air and shadows to try and distinguish the woman behind the vocals. Despite his 20/20 vision, the complete lack of night vision goggles made the task difficult. 

He tried to catch his breath as he realised he was practically laying on the table in front of him. Gaining some form of composure back he sunk into his seat in a sudden trance. He could see only from her lips down. The dress she had clinging to her body was a deep red that added to the allure of the song she was projecting. Her hair was dark brown or black, he couldn’t tell but it fell around her waist adding to her silhouette. He could also make out her lips, they were the same shade as the dress she had pinned to her body but he found them even more captivating. Those lips were the kind that brought men to their knees before a single syllable could be uttered. They stopped time. They provided the first voice that had ever rendered him speechless. 

So baby packed up all she had, promised to never come back.   
She left me alone and without, skin I could study about.

Accepting the fact that he would not know the contours of this woman’s face he closed his eyes absorbing the music, the lyrics, and of course her voice. Ivan drove an elbow lightly into his arm bringing Dimitris his eyes open as the girl grabbed the stand and stepped into it with the beat of the song. Her slow and deliberate movement added to the performance in a way he had never seen. He was enthralled. The passion being portrayed upon the stage was one he hadn’t seen in a very long time.

The woman continued to sing and sway through an 8 song set. Unlike most artists she opted out of short monologues and intervals to address those around her. Instead she hammered through the songs, leaving everyone wanting more. There was no announcement that her final song would be just that, instead the audience watched, practically hypnotised, as she placed the mic back on the stand and turned to strut off the side of the stage.

He muttered a phrase in Russian that would roughly translate to, “No fucking way.” His friend smacked against the side of him whilst laughing. “I told you this would be good.” He stated matter-of-factly as he slid from the booth. 

“Who is she? How did you know about her?” The still shocked man said as he shook his head in attempt to clear it. Successfully wiping the dazed look from his face he pointedly stared, waiting for an answer, but Ivan was distracted by a couple existing from the door to the right of the stage. 

“I’ll fill you in later man, I’m glad you enjoyed.” He said with a smirk. “I have to go talk to some people so I’ll text you later.” He stated quickly before weaving into the crowd towards the tall black and blonde haired pair whom looked as though they could have been out of a magazine. 

Shrugging his shoulders at the man’s actions Dimitri tried to shake out the tension from his body before heading out the way he had come. Leaving was a different experience from entering, despite that though he was left equally as confused. 

As he opened the door downstairs the bass heavy beats protruded his ears again, the sounds were reminiscent of a bitter taste left in your mouth. As he pushed his way past sweaty bodies and shaking speakers pouring the haphazard bass, thoughts of the music upstairs still stained his brain. The voice upstairs…. That was the flavour of top shelf scotch, but at the same time, water after a drought. It wasn’t an acquired taste but instead one any one would turn to in a time of need. 

The outdoors brought him a gust of cold wind, shocking him out of his state of admiration. His eyes scoured the entrance of the club, his eyes not settling once on the crowed lined up by the door. Taking a grounding breath, he mindlessly ran his right hand over the top of his left as he began his walk home. He knew without a doubt that his dreams were going to be littered with red lips and aged alcohol.

~FORBEARANCE~

Letting out a breathy note to finish her song, Rose ran her eyes over the blurred crowd one last time searching for familiar face she had been waiting, not so patiently, to see. Giving up all hope that he was there she accepted defeat. 

Slowly running her hands up and back down the golden stand for what had to be the thousandth time that night, she turned gracefully and walked slowly, with purpose to the edge of it. Exiting without a single word, she made her way back into the dressing room.

She felt almost as though she had come out of a spell as she re-entered the dingy premises. Although she was disappointed, that feeling had only come to her twice during the performance; once at the beginning and once at the end. The rest of the time she was too busy being swept away by the music she hadn’t let in for so long. The feeling wasn’t what it used to be and it hadn’t even brushed on the passion had felt in the past but it was nice to let the music seep into her skin. She felt as though for a few songs she had been possessed by lyrics and it was a nice feeling. 

Still swaying slightly she picked up her trench coat and slipped it back over her body, successfully fighting the cold before it could hit her. As she bent to pick up her bag, distant voices from behind her pulled her back to standing.

“She was stunning. I’m glad he told me about her.” The first voice was congratulatory and unknown to her.

“I knew she could still do it.” Rose recognised the voice and the proud tone as belonging to Lissa. She would bet that the grunt of agreeance belonged to Christian as well. 

The curiosity of who the voice belonged to and who had informed him of her presence was not enough to fight her desire to go home. Instead of waiting to see the guests she quickly snuck out of the room and took of quietly down the only hallway she hadn’t been in all night. She knew exactly where it led after visiting it hundreds of times before.

Exiting the only door at the end of the passage she stepped into the room she had just performed for. Keeping her head down she made her way to the stairway leading to the main dance floor and descended quickly. Entering the room, she considered joining the party goers grinding and drinking on the liquor soaked floor. Realising she just didn’t have the energy she shook her head at herself and headed towards the back exit. 

The trench coat she draped over her body didn’t block the cold air as well as she had hoped but the heels strapped to her feet disabled her ability to run on damp concrete. Settling for a steady power walk to her old car, she shoved the keys into the lock and started the engine immediately, craving the warmth the heater could provide. 

Waiting for her car to heat up she slipped her phone out of her bag and answered the sixth call from Lissa in the ten minutes she had been out of the dressing room. 

“Hey, sorry I left so quickly but I really just want to go home.” She stated quickly, rushing to hang up before Lissa could convince her otherwise. 

“Wait!” The voice was urgent so hesitantly she returned the cold phone to her ear, “I need to talk to you before you go, I’ll come to you.”

Sighing, the brunette shoved her head back into the seat and waited. She didn’t have to inform her friend of her whereabouts, somehow she always just… knew. Less than five minutes later she heard a knock on the passenger window for the second time that night. She reopened the eyes she had never intended to close. Reaching over to unlock the door Rose Hathaway stared expectantly at her closest friend.

“Don’t look at me like that Rose.” She stated before being welcomed with another sigh, this time paired with an eye roll. “Christian and I were just with a distant friend of the Ozera’s and he mentioned a song writing seminar that’s going to be on Monday and long story short he made some calls a got you a spot!!” She all but squealed the last part of her sentence before gaining some of her composure back.

A deep groan left Rose’s mouth as she smacked her head on her seat in frustration, “damn it Liss, no one actually enjoys those things, they are awkward and most people are forced into them by a record label. Which is something I don’t even have.” She tilted her head to look at the blonde who look quite discouraged. Ah fuck. Rose’s inner dialogue muttered, she knew Lissa had meant well but she couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the obligation to attend now.

“I was just trying to help..” the petite girl said quietly before being met with yet another sigh from the driver’s side of the car. This time however, it was in defeat.

“I’ll do it.” Was the only response Rose could muster. 

Lissa clapped excitedly, “Rose it’s going to be such a good opportunity! You could be writing with some of the greats!” She babbled on as Rose considered the ‘opportunity’ for what it was. There would be no greats at this event, she had seen these things happen before and had even attend a few junior versions in her time. It was a room filled with thirty or so strangers who took turns being paired of and were given a short about of time to write something that would ultimately be forced and mediocre. 

“I’ll send you the details! I’m so excited for you Rose!” Were the words to shatter her thought process, and they were followed by the gentle closing of her car door. Unsure of exactly what had just happened the brunette cranked the heater in her car even higher before plugging in her seat belt and tearing out of the car park towards her no doubt empty house. 

~FOREBEARANCE~


	2. Chapter 2

Song: The Civil Wars – Falling

~FORBEARANCE~

By the time Sunday evening rolled around Rose Hathaway was dreading the up and coming write she was to attend. Her entire weekend had been tainted with promises of opportunity and fun from Lissa. She couldn’t escape, whether it was texts messages, Snapchats, tweets, or in person, she was constantly reminded of the activity. In fact, this morning she woke to Lissa’s knock at the front door.

Groggily she had dragged herself out of the warm embrace of her covers and pulled the door open harder than necessary sending it to crashing against the wall behind it. 

“Morning!” Lissa said excitedly, blatantly ignoring the grumpy look on her best friend face. “I brought coffee!” she stated, handing over the caffeine filled cup before she could be kicked out of the house.

“Lissa, I’m not sure if you’re aware of the fact that it’s a common courtesy to phone ahead of arriving. Or at the very least to send a text.” Rose grumbled as she saved her cold feet from the hard wood floors with a fox embellished slipper. She got on her hands and knees to find the other half of the pair, flipping her bed-messed hair back over her shoulder as she returned to standing. Her eyes were met with a bag filled with – if she wasn’t mistaken, donuts. 

“If I thought you’d agree to have me over to talk about tomorrow I would have done exactly that. Anyway! I brought donuts!” Donuts were Lissa’s version of a white flag being waved, she hated the things, going as far as to refer to them as “Sugary wheels of death and diabetes.” 

“It hardly counts as a peace offering if the intension was to wreak havoc on my life.” Rose continued to grumble as she stomped into her kitchen to deposit the bag of delicious dough on her bench and her ass on one of the uninviting plastic stools placed around the room. 

“Havoc on your life? Seems like a bit of exaggeration Rose. I simply want to make sure you’re not stressing about tomorrow.” More like not moping, Rose thought to herself. 

“I’m fine Liss, I’ve done this before and it’s not like I can prepare. I just go in, give them a few catchy choruses and get out of there. Easy.” Plus pointless small talk, awkward compliments and cringe worthy lyrics, she added silently. 

Lissa just gave her a look that begged for a sincerity that she knew she wouldn’t get. “Okay… well if you don’t want to practise or anything….” She left the sentence open for Rose to change her mind before shrugging her shoulders in defeat and continuing on, “then we should discuss the quick exit you made on Friday. It’s unlike you to avoid social situations. In fact I would argue it’s one of the most out of character thing you’ve done since you quit music.” 

“I didn’t quit music! I told you I just needed a break.” The brunette defended herself. “Besides, I just had a bit of a headache from the lights and sound system in Vlad’s.” She lied through her teeth. My bed wouldn’t treat me this way, her inner monologue fired as she thought of its comforting nature as Lissa expressed her opinions on the matter at hand. 

“It just came out of nowhere, it was your life and then it was like you transformed. You didn’t want to go out anymore. You just wanted to stay in and accommodate for certain people in your life.” Lissa stated softly. 

“My bed wouldn’t treat me this way.” Was the reply to slip out of Rose’s mouth. Oooops, she thought as the two shared a look of confusion and slight discomfort before breaking down into a fit of giggles. The smaller woman was never very good at filtering her inner and outer voices. 

After a few minutes of uninterrupted laughter, Rose reached for the bag in front of her removing a donut and feasting away as she thought about Lissa’s concerns. As much as she hated to admit it, the girl had a point. 

Ever since kindergarten Rose Hathaway was known for three things. First, her extroverted personality. It didn’t matter who it was, she could interact with them with no issue. Second, her passion. If she cared about something there was nothing that could distract her from ensuring things worked out for it or in some cases, them. And third, her musical abilities. 

However, over the past five months she had unintentionally shifted from the fun loving and attentive person she had once been, to a more reserved and … lonely, shell of her former self. Chewing on her donut and completely joining the waking world she thought about how it may have happened, and how she could reverse it. 

“Rose?...” Lissa coaxed her out of her dream like state.

“Shhh… I’m having an epiphany over here!” Her statement caused another round of laughter from the two. Lissa smiled knowingly at the friend who was starting on her second donut. They had spent the rest of the morning discussing the life of newlyweds, interns, and the performance just passed. 

Despite the day of easy conversation and the sugary goodness, as the friends said their goodbyes in the afternoon, Rose remained sceptical of the song writing seminar. She was happy to slowly dip herself back into the world of music but as she walked around her house taking in the art on the walls she returned to a state of slight dread. 

What if she wasn’t ready to write with a bunch of people already signed to labels? What if she wasn’t confident enough to get up in front of a small room with a clear view of all their expressions and perform something she barely knew? Her brain fired all of the possible ‘What if’ statements it could generate as she eased herself onto a couch and waited for the familiar sound of her front door opening.

~FORBEARANCE~

 

Easing his car into the near-empty car park, Dimitri reached for his cup of coffee before he had time to so much pull his handbrake. He had spent his entire weekend distracting himself from the task ahead of him. 

Group songwriting seminars were the worst part of his job, uncomfortable silence when you couldn’t agree on lyrics, or standing in front of a group performing a watered down version of what you’re capable of. It didn’t matter, they were always bad news as far as he was concerned. 

Lost in thought, he analysed his recent writing endeavors. None of the songs had been great, he could acknowledge that. They could be bopped to, or repeated on radio 30 times a day when accompanied by a big name but none of them were content he could be proud to put his name on. 

“Dimitri, we think it would be beneficial for you to go and experience music with others.” As someone whom preferred to work alone rather than in the constraints of someone else this felt like some sort of personal nightmare. Not to mention how insulting the condescending nature of the comments were, even from the head of his label. He had been in the industry for years now and knew how it worked. 

Ever since he had woken up he had been fantasising ways to get out of the event. He was sure he’d imagined someone smacking him over the head with his own guitar more times than he could count. Subsequently, Dimitri was certain that he’d prefer that activity. None-the-less the label he was contracted to insisted that he attend. So here he was.

Although the job ‘opportunity’ being forced upon him had been ebbing at his thoughts the past two and a bit days, most of his attention had been focused on the girl from St Vladimir’s. Despite the promise for an explanation from Ivan the man had remained missing in action since that evening. This was nothing new but it didn’t stop Dimitri from harassing his inbox with questions and queries. 

He grabbed his phone to check it again for some form of response, shaking his head at his own actions. “Get it together Dimitri.” He murmured to himself. As he went to type another strongly worded message, he simultaneously took a sip of coffee. Letting the warm liquid spread through his body he closed his eyes and letter by letter, deleted the message. The infatuation had to end. She’s just a girl with mutant vocal chords. You have other things to focus on. Grow up. He chastised himself for becoming a pathetic starry eyed mess over a voice at the age of 28. 

Looking away from the brightly lit phone the amount of cars now in the block overwhelmed the songwriter. Checking the time, he awkwardly pushed himself out of his car. There was no way to do it gracefully let alone smoothly. When purchasing his vehicle, he went for sheer size rather than economic value or speed, simply because he wanted to fit in it and at approximately 6’7” that was a difficult requirement for a car to meet. 

Heading to the trunk of the car.. or rather truck, he jerked his guitar from the space it occupied and rolled his eyes at the music sheets and pages of lyrics stacked neatly in the corner. Reaching over and grabbing the piece on top, the newest piece, he scanned the melody he had begun creating on the morning of Saturday. After he had finally peeled himself from his bed and the dreams he had predicted. 

The song already spoke of infatuation, of adoration, and admiration. The only response he had for his own actions was another violent eye roll. Real mature Belikov. As someone who prided himself of remaining level headed and consistent in his actions, the way his brain had been veering lately had been troublesome.

This wasn’t something he could just blame on the mystery girl, in fact he couldn’t blame it on anyone but himself. His spark was fading and he couldn’t help but notice it. Around him everyone else was progressing, changing, adapting, while he remained stagnant. The Russian stared blankly at the pile of musical paraphernalia in front of him, waiting for an answer to pop out at him.

After standing there for what had to be at least five solid minutes he returned to the living world before crushing the paper in his hands he throwing it back in the car and pushing the hatch shut. Let’s get this over with. He thought whilst kicking himself for not ordering a triple shot that morning.

~FORBEARANCE~

She stared out the window at her tiny car, covered in dents and scratches. It was surrounded by cars that screamed money and she couldn’t help but draw a parallel from her car in the parking lot to her in this room.

People were streaming into the room at a steady rate and the variety was astounding, she couldn’t squash the slight flutter of curiosity fueled excitement. She watched a petite woman with dark curly hair walk through the door straight towards a woman to the left of Rose whom was the exact opposite – tall with a mountain of ginger hair piled on top of her head. 

She continued her observations and the more she watched the quicker she realized that like her, many of the people were, seemingly, strangers. After accidentally making eye contact with a slender Asian man in the corner, Rose stared at her boot clad feet. Another thing she could take solace in; the fact that she was neither overdressed nor under. 

She had spent a solid amount of time selecting an outfit for the day after waiting on her couch had become too much. She was slightly ashamed of how long it had taken her to choose. She had almost become desperate enough to call Lissa, but even thinking of how that conversation would have gone down was enough to discourage the idea before it could fully form. 

At the sound of cymbals clanging against each other, the brunette pealed her eyes from the ground to face the noise. “Alright folks. My name is Abe and I’m the one in charge today…” Rose tried to pay attention. Really she did, but hearing about the day structure was not enough to keep her attention. “Blah blah meet and greet.” “Blah 45 minutes with each person blah blah.” Should have ordered an extra shot this morning. She thought to herself as she tried to bring her focus back to the man in the front.

“I’m giving you all a number between 1 and 15, there are station through this door, obviously go to the one with your number and that’s when you’ll meet your first partner. It’s not rocket science y’all.” He stated with boredom aching through the entirety of his sentence. 

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5….”Abe pointed haphazardly around the room with no specific formation. Rose’s brain kicked into gear as she waited for her number. 

“12.” He said pointing at her. She closed her eyes quickly committing it to memory. She had planned to open them before he got to her partner so she could gauge them before they had to meet but the man was speeding through the numbers like he had only minutes to live. 

Okay I can do this. I can do it. I think I can, I think I can. Taking steadying breaths, she waited for the next door to open. The people around her sauntered into the new room, all of them dragging their feet in a subtle act of defiance. She stumbled in after them trying to give an air of sophistication and failing miserably. 

The room was not what she had expected. At the writes she had previously attended the hall was just split into tiny blocks with duct tape, and there was enough room for two seats and a music stand. This set up was something much more. The giant hall was still split by duct tape but only four times. Those areas were marked 2, 7, 12 and 15. Surrounding the room was doors all with numbers marked on the front. 

She was slightly in awe of the space. Musically it made sense to her, when you’re confined and close to each other it wasn’t uncommon for your neighbour’s music to bleed into yours. But knowing the logic behind it and actually seeing it was a whole different situation. 

There was a stage directly at the end of the room, set up was two mic stands, two amps, and a single music stands. She didn’t even want to think about the possibility of being called up there. Instead she ran her eyes over the numbers once more and her eyes settled on the 12. 

Slowly approaching it she could see someone already over there, crouched over a guitar case. She watched them ease the acoustic from its confinements, before grabbing their capo and pick. As the man stretched into standing she was floored by the sheer size of him. She tried desperately to keep her mouth from dropping open, he was attractive. 

With brown hair to his shoulders, stubble decorated his face and brown eyes bore into hers with confusion seeping from them. As attractive as the man was though, he was still her first write of the day and this was going to be weird enough. She silenced her thoughts and forced a smile as she made her way into the taped section. 

“Hello, I’m Dimitri.” The thick Russian accent surprised her as she held out her hand to meet his. “Hi there, I’m Rose!” She replied a lot more enthusiastically than anticipated, but she kept the shake of his hand short and steady. Yes! Go me! She celebrated prematurely. 

Dimitri invited her to sit before he did so, gesturing with his hand to the seat on the right. She smiled again, this time more genuine and sat down. He pulled his guitar into his lap a checked the tuning. Plucking aimlessly, he faced her and they exchanged award stares. Then in perfect synchronizsation they both moved to speak only to stop at the exact same time and look expectedly at each other. They both chuckled somewhat darkly.

This time it was Rose’s turn to gesture that Dimitri had the floor to speak but before he could a voice came over the speaker system. “You all have 10 minutes left to get this meet and greet stuff under way, but if I were you I’d get it over quickly and start writing.” The words of wisdom caused everyone in the room to shake their heads in unison.

“I was going to ask you, your thoughts about the weather but I guess now I don’t need to bother.” The Russian voice said as the day’s narrator cut himself off. Rose snorted, before throwing her head back into a laugh at the awkward atmosphere. 

“That’s fair.” She stated after her outburst, looking up again only to find her partner plucking away at strings as he tried to find a rhythm, or a chord, she wasn’t sure. She noticed a gold glint on the hand moving steadily over the fret board but she didn’t have time to focus on the now blatantly obvious ring. From the mess of tempos and tunes being created one particular sounds caught her attention.

“Hold on.” She stated, causing her first write to look at her once more with confusion. She gave him a look that just pleaded for him to bear with her. “Can you please play that again?” With concentration plastered to his face he plucked at the strings again. 

He ran through the progression twice more before he looked up at her. She was biting her lip not sure whether or not it was appropriate to share feedback yet. He nodded his head at her, “Please just say it.” He encouraged. 

“Well.. the notes, they sounded haunted but the tempo feels off…” she tried to make her voice as neutral as possible but Rose Hathaway wasn’t known for effectively concealing emotions. However, she was pleasantly surprised to see understanding melt over the guitar players face.

As he plucked out the pattern a few more times he confidently added new rhythm that wasn’t there before. Rose felt inspiration hit her like a truck filled with bricks as she begun to hum to the rhythm, pulling her hair in a pile, she tied it into a knot on the top of her head so she could concentrate. In front of her was a music stand with blank sheet music and lined paper. 

Snatching the paper and pen from the stand she lost all inhibition and wrote a few disorganised lyrics across the page before crossing them out and writing something else. She could feel Dimitri’s stare burning into the side of her, he stopped playing as she continued to scrawl words across the page. 

“No!” She blurted and he looked at her with one eyebrow raised and amusement dancing across his eyes. “I mean; can you please keep playing...” she attempted with a sheepish grin. He did so with no questions but with the request to see the lyrics. She confirmed with a nod as she added one last line. 

“Okay, this is rough but it’s just an idea,” she said whilst pushing the paper back onto the stand and angling it so they could both see. Dimitri’s eyes scanned the page as he took in the lyrics before staring at it as though he was waiting for something to jump out at him.

“These are wonderful… kind of like poetry. But I’m going to be honest I don’t know how it fits with the music in terms of tempo.” He stated calmly. Rose let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. 

“Oh well, umm.” She pointed from the lyrics to the guitar a dozen times with her mouth opening and closing with no sound whilst Dimitri stared at her just waiting to understand. “I think I’m just going to have to show you.” she sighed in defeat. Dimitri nodded as though agreeing that was probably the best course of action. 

He began plucking the melodic tune again, and Rose counted her way in.

Haven’t you seen me sleep walking? ‘Cause I’ve been holding your hand.  
Haven’t you noticed me drifting? Oh, let me tell you, I am. 

Tell me it’s nothing. Try to convince me…

She stopped singing for two reasons one of which was her lack of more lyrics and the second was the look on Dimitri’s face that flicked from wide eyes surprise, to admiration, to horror, and was now steady on concentration. She could practically see the gears moving in his head. What he was analysing she wasn’t exactly sure but boy was she anxious to find out. 

 

~FORBEARANCE~

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK! The word rolled through his head in a mix of languages and emotions. Okay so mystery girl is most definitely sitting across from you Dimitri! How does that voice come from that body?! Wait you were supposed to be over this infatuation.. But that was before the chances of meeting her were even remote! You have a wife pull it together. 

He shouldn’t have been as shocked as he was. When he had turned, guitar in hand to meet the partner he had been dreading all morning; he had made eye contact with a woman much shorter than himself. Which really wasn’t hard to be, but despite her common stature she had a familiarity about her. 

He had experienced confusion immediately, he quickly analysed her from head to toe. He didn’t know her eyes that much was certain, but her hair shone brightly despite it’s dark hue. He had brushed his eyes quickly over her nose and mouth choosing not to start intently at them, that could never end well with a complete stranger.  
Her clothes didn’t ring a bell for him either, a leather jacket over a low cut top in a colour resembling the darkest pits of the ocean. Her pants were black and tight and combat boots finished her look. Yet there was no specific recognition. Now he had wished he had taken time to look at her lips, they were already etched into his memory. 

Realising the woman across from him was going slightly red after having no feedback AND a giant Russian man just staring intently at her. He diverted his gaze to the sheet music, muttering something he hoped was a compliment as he grabbed the spare pen and jotted down another line. 

That I’m not drowning, Oh let me tell you I am.

He turned to her and she nodded in encouragement as he added a few more, trying to keep a similar theme throughout his lyrics to match with hers. He placed the pen back on the stand and grabbed his guitar again. “I understand completely now and I think you’re onto something. Let’s just play around with it and see what happens.” He was met with words of agreeance as he started the melody again. 

This time they added the new lines and already a harmony had begun to flow. Needing a change of pace he played a series of different chords and patterns trying to make something out of nothing. It came to him quicker than he expected and he enjoyed the admiration shining from Rose’s eyes. He sang a few bars and reached to write them up. Rose followed suit and instructed her idea for the pattern behind her fresh words. 

She sped up the tempo to get to the part of the song she wanted, providing him with an immediate understanding of where she was going but the funny part was somehow, he already knew. Her voice was still sending shock waves through his body with a similar effect it had over him on the Friday night just passed. 

The difference was now the girl wasn’t a mystery, she was really here, and she had real talent. Both in singing and writing. He was torn between wanting to push her away from him immediately and staying to explore the musical connection they somehow possessed despite knowing nothing about each other.

They played through the first minute of the song, both singing and tapping their feet to the rhythm. As Rose reached up to alter a few words she held the paper down with her left hand. Trying to see the alterations, Dimitri was distracted by the silver ring decorated with diamonds weighing down her hand. But all thoughts on the matter were disrupted by the waving of her right hand in his face. 

“Hey there Comrade! Don’t fall asleep on me now.” The sarcasm and humor dripping from her voice caused a genuine smile to split across his face as he laughed at the tactless nickname.

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” He retorted picking up where he had left off in the tune. For the next 20 minutes they spring boarded ideas from each other, changing tempos, lyrics and harmonies. By the end of the session they had a finished song. It was rough and needed some reworking but with only 45 minutes it was a miracle to have this much done. 

The call for a 15 minute break was announced as everyone began to pack up their instruments. Dimitri froze knowing that after that break it would be time to partner up with someone new and he knew without a doubt that nothing could top the experience he had just had. And to think you didn’t want to come here today. Even his thoughts were dripping in sarcasm. 

Rose turned to him, “So we avoided the small talk before but I think after that,” she said pointing at their work, “I think it’s necessary.” He gave a small, closed mouth smile, followed by a nod, before standing. The two of them exited the hall together returning to the lobby which now had beverages and snacks set up in one corner.

“Coffee!!!” Rose exclaimed, Dimitri was sure he had never before heard those two syllables sound more hypnotising.. and he loved coffee.

 

~FORBEARANCE~

 

Sorry to be that person but I’m begging for y’all to review!   
I’m like Tinkerbell, I need applause to live.   
(Basically I’m a slut for praise so help me out.)


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